Nail-raceway



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

B. WOODWARD.

NAIL RACEWAY.

(N0 M0del.)' 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. E. WOODWARD.

NAIL RACEWAY No. 580,589. Patented Apr. 13, 1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

ERASTUS WVOODWARD, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE VOODWARD MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SACO, MAINE.

NAIL-RACEWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 580,589, dated April13, 1897. Application filed February 13, 1896. Serial No. 579,145. (Nomodel.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERASTUS WooDwAnD, of Somerville, county ofMiddlesex, and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Nail-Raceways, of which the following is a specification;and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andexact'description of the invention, which will enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention, as will appear from the followingspecification, is to produce a nail-raceway adapted to feed wirecollarnails to the nail-driving mechanism of either heel-nailingmachines or machines adapted to drive nails for other classes of work.

My invention consists of certain novel features hereinafter described,and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings which illustrate a construction embodying my invention,Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved nail-raceway with the nail-hopperand cooperating parts. Fig. 2 is a side view of the nail-hopper,nailraceway, and cooperating parts. Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partlyin section, to show the position of the nails in the nail-raceway. Fig.4 is a detail view in perspective of the nailraceway, the nail-guideover a portion of said raceway, the nail-shifter holder to which thenail-shifter is secured, and the inclined apron on which the nails arethrown by the nailshovels from the nail-hopper. Fig. 5 is across-sectional view taken on the line mm, Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detailview in perspective of a modification embodying my invention. Fig. 7 isa cross-sectional view of a modification, taken on the line :0 at, Fig.6.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts throughout the severalviews.

A represents a nail-hopper, in the opposite sides of which is journaledthe shaft A, on which there is secured, within the hopper, thenail-buckets B, cast with the hub B secured fast on the said shaft A,and to the end of each nail-bucket B there is secured a nail-shovel B ofthin sheet metal, and on one end of the said shaft A there is securedfast a driving-pulley B adapted to be revolved by a belt receiving itspower from any suitable source and by means of which the shaft A isrevolved and with it the nail-buckets B and also the ratchet-wheel G,hereinafter described.

Extending up into the nail-hop per is a nailraceway O, composed of twoopposite sections 0, held together and also secured to the frame I ofthe machine by means of suitable screws I. The said sections C arerecessed on their inner sides to form a throat C and at the upperextreme end of said nail-raceway a nail-apron C is secured to the sideof one of the sections C, (see Fig. 4,) whichis inclined from its upperend toward the throat C in the raceway C and is provided with a guard Cto guide the nails toward the throat C and prevent them from fallingback into the hopper as they are thrown upon said apron C by the bucketsB and shovels B in the revolution of the shaft A. Located at the upperend of said raceway and over the sections C is a nail-shifterD,consisting of two opposite pieces D, between which there is provided athroat D which is located over and in alinement with the throat C in thenail-raceway (see Fig. 3) and of less width than the collar a of thefeeding nails a, so that in-the downward movement of the nails afterthey leave the apron C and pass into the throats D and C which areinalinement, the collar rests on the two opposite pieces D of thenail-shifter D. To the side of one of the pieces D there is secured, bymeans of rivets D, the shifterholder D and said shifter-holder D isconstructed at its upper end with a fixed vertical end D having at itsupper end a fixed arm D and at its lower end a flat inner face D adaptedto engage with a lug D projecting from the side of the raceway. At thelower end of said nail-shifter D there is formed a hollow rectangularcap E, and projecting into the cavity of said cap is aprojection E ofthe upper nail-guide E secured above the sections C, formingthe racewayC, and above the throat 0 (See Fig. 4c.) The extension E of said guide Eis of less width than the said guide and fits into the interior of thecap E and over the heads of the nails.

As shown in Fig. 4, the guide E has a rib E on one side, and by means ofsaid rib and the underside of said guide there is provided a guide forkeeping the nails in an upright position after they have passed throughthe cap E under the extension E to beneath the guide E As will be seenfrom Fig. 5, a throat E is provided in the cap E, which is of sufficientwidth to accommodate the head of the nail, and in the raceway C a throatC is provided forthe shank of the nail, and said throat E, as will beseen, is of less width than the collar a of the nail a, but ofsufficient width to allow the passage ofthe head a of said nail, and thebottom of said cap E is arranged in such relation to the top of thesections 0 of the raceway O as to provide sufficient space for thepassage of the collar A of the nail when lying flat, as shown in thedrawings, but would prevent the entrance of the nail from the throat Dof the nail-shifter D it said nail was presented with the head foremostor the shank foremost or in any other position where the said collar wasnot lying flat on the sides D of the nail-shifter D, as shown in Fig. 4,so that in order for the nails to pass from the throat D of thenail-shifter D through the cap E into the lower end of the raceway C itis necessary that said nails farrange themselves with the shank a in thethroat C- of the raceway C with the collar flat on the sides D of thenail-shifter D and with the head in position to pass into the lower endof the throat E" of the cap E and underneath the under side of theextension Eof the guide E Consequently under such provisions the nailsmust all pass with their points down in a substantially verticalposition along the raceway, and in no case can the nails pass endwise,sidewise, or in any other position from the top of the raceway to thebottom of said raceway, because by means of said cap and theconstruction there pro vided the nails can only pass when arranged asshown. It the nails do not arrange them selves in the position shown inFig. 4 as they are about to enter into the cap E, they will fallover thesides D back into the hopper, as it will be seen that the apron C andthe nail-shifter holder D do not extend the entire distance to the capE, but leave a free open space on each side. Consequentlyif the nails'donot arrange themselves in a proper position in the nail-shifter D toenter and pass through the cap E they will fall over the sides back intothe hopper.

The arm D of the nail-shifter holder D is mounted in the hub F cast onthe upper end of 'thelever F, pivotally secured on the lug F, extendingfrom the side of the hopper A, and on a lateral extension F 'of saidlever there is provided a fixed pawl F held normally in the notchesbetween the teeth G of the ratchet-wheel G, having a hub G around theshaft A and a set-screw G by means of which said ratchet-wheel Grissecured fast on said'shaft A and adapted to move therewith. Connected tothe pin H located on the vertical end D of the nail-shifter holder,there is a spring H, which at its opposite end is connected to anotherpin H located on the top of one of the sides of the nail-hopper, asshown in Figs. 1 and 3, and said spring normally holds said flat surfaceD of the vertical end D of the nail-shifter holder in contact with thelug D 011 the side of the nailraceway C, and said spring also holds thepawl F in engagement with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel G. Upon therevolution,however, of the ratchet-wheel G the teeth push said pawl Foutwardly, and with it the lever F, and said lever carries with it thearm D and vertical end I), and also slides the nailshifter D, with itscap E, upwardly along the top of the section (1" of the raceway C, andas said pawl F falls into another notch between the teeth in the wheel Gthe spring H exerts its tension and pulls said vertical end D forwardly,so that the flat surface D comes in contact with the lug D and gives avibratory motion to the raceway, and at the same time the nail-holder Dslides back along the raceway over the sections 0, and the ends of thecap E strike the ends of the guide E beyond the extension E and alsotend to shake said raceway, whereby upon each actuation of the lever F avibration is given to the raceway,

, which agitates the nails and tends to keep up their movement down thesaid raceway. The extension E of the guide E locatedin the throat E ofthe cap E, acts as a guide to said nail-shifter in the up and downsliding movements of said nail-shifter along the top'of the upper partof the raceway.

If desired, another rib can be provided on the other side of the guide Eso as to provide a groove in which the heads of the nails would beguided. after passing the cap E, but, however, this is not necessary,nor in fact is the rib E necessary, because after the nails have passedbeyond the cap E they are in a vertical position and so close in contactthat with the bottom of the guide E near the top of the heads of thenails the said nails would not be apt to change their relative position,but would continue in a substantially vertical position down the racewayto the naildriving mechanism.

In the drawings I have shown a construction embodying my invention forcarrying out certain results, as above described, but it will beunderstood that various other constructions could be employed whichwould embody my invention and carry out the results set forth.

In Figs. 6 and 7 I have shown a modification in which the cap E andextension E are altogether omitted, and the upper guide E is constructedwith the groove E adapted to fit around the head of the nail, and thelower ends of the nail'shifter D are adapted to contact with said guideE in the reciprocations of said nail-shifter to and fro, caused by therotation of the ratchet-wheelG, and

. in such construction the nails move along the throat D down into thecavity D formed in the sides D, and thence pass into the throats E and Oand out from the lower end of' said guide E down to the nail-driving 5mechanism.

It will be obvious that I have practically arranged two raceways orguides, one above and the other below, the groove or throat in the lowerraceway being provided for the shank [O of the nail below the collar andthe groove or could be omitted from the construction shown in Figs. 6and 7, and the guide E could be simply provided with an upper groovewhich would receive the head of the nail, and the z 5 said upper guide Ewould then be adjusted in such relation to the upper part of thesections of the raceway O that the space between said raceways would beless than the diameter of the body of the nail, so the nail 0 could notpass sidewise under the guide E and also less than the diameter of thecollar of the nail, so that the nails could not pass endwise.Consequently the only position in which the nail could pass down theraceway 3 from the nail-shifter would be a substantially vertical one,as shown in the figures of the drawings.

From all the above it will be clearly apparent that the devices providedare for the purpose of causing the nail to assume a substantiallyvertical position, as shown, and that in no other position can it passfrom the nail-shifter to the nail-driving mechanism.

Having thus ascertained the nature and set 5 forth the constructionembodying my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States, 1s

1. In a raceway for nails having collars, a lower guide provided with alongitudinal passage for guiding the shank of anail and adapted tosupport the collar of the same on the edges of said passage, and anupper guide mounted above the lower guide having a longitudinal groovetherein of awidth less than the diameter of the collar registering withthe passage in the lower guide and adapted to receive and guide the headof a nail and forming with said lower guide a passage for the receptionof the collar of a nail.

2. In a raceway for collar-nails, a lower guide provided with alongitudinal passage for guiding the shank of a nail and adapted tosupport the collar of the same on the edges of said passage, and anupper guide mounted above the lower guide having a longitudinal groovetherein of a width less than the diameter of the collar registering withthe passage in the lower guide and adapted to receive and guide the headof a nail and forming with said lower guide a passage having atransverse width and of a depth sufficient to receive the collar of anail, the depth of said passage being less than the diameter of the saidcollar, and a means for presenting a nail to said guide mechanism in anupright position with its shank down.

3. In a raceway for collar-nails, a lower guide provided with alongitudinal passage for guiding the shank of a nail and adapted tosupport the collar of the same on the edges of said passage, an upperguide mounted above the lower guide having a longitudinal groove thereinregistering with the passage in the lower guide and adapted to receiveand guide the head of a nail and forming with said lower guide a passagefor the reception of the collar of a nail, and a reciprocating cap forpresenting a nail to said guide mechanism in an upright position withits shank down.

4. Inaracewayforcollar-nails,anail-guide, a reciprocating shiftermounted on said guide, and a cap carried by said shifter for regulatingthe position of the nails as the latter pass into said guide.

5. In a nail-raceway,a lower guide provided with athroat for thereception of a nail-shank, an upper guide provided with a throat for thereception of a nail-head, a reciprocating shifter mounted on said lowerguide, and a cap attached to said shifter and registering with an end ofsaid upper guide.

6. In a nail-raceway,alower guide provided wit-h a throat for thereception of a nail-shank, an upper guide provided with a throat for thereception of a nail-head, a reciprocating cap mounted on said lowerguide and registering with an end of said upper guide.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 11th day of February, A.D. 1896.

ERASTUS VVOODWARD.

Witnesses:

L. W. STAPLES, E. L. HARLOW.

